Manthan - or The Churning - is a 1976 film that tells a fictionalised version of the beginnings of India’s dairy cooperative movement, and the ‘White Revolution’ that transformed the country from a milk-deficient nation to the world’s largest milk producer. It was, in part, inspired by Dr Verghese Kurien (known as ‘the Father of the White Revolution’ and ‘the milkman of India’) – and was funded by 500,000 farmers who each contributed RS 2. to make sure their story was told – while also addressing issues of caste, class, gender and economic discrimination.
This year, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (Amul) worked with the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) to restore the original film ahead of a premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May. It was then released in 101 cinemas across 51 cities in India in June – and in November, the film will be screened during the ICA Global Cooperative Conference, immediately after the global launch of the 2025 UN International Year of Cooperatives.
The film follows the story of Dr Rao, a young veterinary surgeon who visits a village where he intends to set up a dairy cooperative for the betterment of the community. Based on a script by Vijay Tendulkar, Manthan was directed by Shyam Benegal and shot by Govind Nihalani, with music by Vanraj Bhatia. The cast includes the late Girish Karnad, Naseeruddin Shah, Dr Mohan Agashe, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Amrish Puri, and the late Smita Patil. The title track of the film, Maro Gaam Katha Parey has since become an anthem of the Indian dairy movement and has been used in adverts.
In an interview with the FHF, Benegal said Manthan is a film very close to his heart. “It was instrumental in the growth of an extraordinary cooperative movement that was aimed at breaking the shackles of economic inequality and caste discrimination whilst empowering the farmers. It will remind the world of the power of cinema as a vehicle of change and also the legacy of the great Verghese Kurien,” he said.
In 2001, Dr Kurien was the inaugural recipient of the Rochdale Pioneers Award, established by the ICA to recognise a person or organisation who has made a significant contribution to cooperatives.
He graduated in physics from the University of Madras in 1940 and received his Master’s in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University in 1947. In 1949, he was sent by the Government of India to run its experimental creamery at Anand, where he set up the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union in 1950, which later became the Anand Milk United Ltd or AMUL. AMUL is the brand name used by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd., which organised the dairy farmers in the villages as a part of cooperatives and linked them to the milk consumers directly.
In 1965, Dr Kurien was appointed head of India’s newly formed National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), established to replicate the Anand cooperative scheme nationwide. As part of this, the NDDB launched Operation Flood in January 1970. This was the world's largest dairy development programme and transformed India from a milk-deficient nation into the world's largest milk producer: the White Revolution.
In the early 70s, Benegal was commissioned to make two documentaries on Operation Flood, but wanted to tell the story to a wider audience: and so Manthan was born. On the back of its success in the Gujarat region, the film was used to persuade farmers across the country to create cooperatives of their own.
“Like in Manthan, a vet, a milk technician and a fodder specialist who can explain the value of crossbreeding would go and help set up cooperatives,” said Benegal. “That is how Kurien made India the largest milk-producing nation in the world.”
Manthan will be screened in New Delhi, India, on 25 November 2024, following the Global Launch of the 2025 UN International Year of Cooperatives during the 2024 Global Conference. To register for the conference, click here.
